John Martin's Christmas Pageant

John Martin's Christmas Pageant John Martin's Christmas Pageant celebrates the Adelaide Christmas Pageant from 1933 to 1995.

Is the 'Meet Me at Johnnies' exhibition at Carrick Hill worth visiting from a pageant perspective?A resounding yes. Whi...
29/08/2026

Is the 'Meet Me at Johnnies' exhibition at Carrick Hill worth visiting from a pageant perspective?

A resounding yes. Whilst the exhibition isn't entirely dedicated to the pageant (John Martin's was so much more) it does feature some very special pieces - some we've seen at previous exhibitions, but some have made their triumphant debut for the first time. This relates mostly to the artwork. There is one float design featured that didn't move to construction so seeing what was planned made the exhibition very special.

'Meet Me at Johnnies' is scheduled to close on October 31st so definitely consider adding a visit whilst it's there. It takes about 60 to 90 minutes to view the exhibition (it's self-paced and across all floors of the house) and you'll walk away with a smile on your face and for a few moments your mind will be giddy of happy memories shopping at Adelaide's greatest department store.

Anthony

27/08/2026

Although St George and the Dragon only completed 3 John Martin’s / Bank SA Christmas Pageants before the change to the Credit Union we can still count him as a John Martin’s favourite.

St George & the Dragon premiered in the 60th pageant in 1993.

Commentators are Jane Reilly and Grant Piro

Anthony

25/08/2026

The Bunyip of Bluegum Flats debuted in 1979 and retired in 1982.

He did return later after a refurbishment as Billy Bunyip in the mid 80’s.

Commentators are Ron Sullivan and Jane Reilly.

And Ron, not weeks and weeks, make that years and years.

Anthony

21/08/2026

The Christmas Music Box was a creative interpretation that arrived in the late 60’s and ended in the late 70’s.

The only change was an addition of a snowflake that replaced a Christmas star.

It wonderful to hear the commentators acknowledge the creative masterminds behind the creation of the floats.

Commentary by Bob Calidcott and Carmel Travers

Anthony

19/08/2026

Scoop made a grand debut in 1979 and although missing a few pageants in between, the float made its farewell in the 60th pageant of 1993.

Commentators are Brenton Whittle and Patsy Biscoe.

Anthony

In 1994 and 1995 TransAdelaide produced special Christmas Pageant bus, train and tram tickets for adults and children.At...
14/08/2026

In 1994 and 1995 TransAdelaide produced special Christmas Pageant bus, train and tram tickets for adults and children.

At least in 1995 they used actual pageant related images.

This was at a time when Telecom/Telstra were producing different collectible phone cards and were sought out by collectors.

These cards have remained fairly easy to find and don't command a huge price tag.

For the last few years public transport to the National Pharmacies Christmas Pageant has been free.

Anthony

10/08/2026

When I corrected someone once from saying Santa, the response was, “does it really matter?”

Yes, in the pageant lore it was and always will be Father Christmas.

It’s interesting the Credit Unions adopted a similar marketing campaign with ‘my mums a pig’, ‘my dad’s a clown’ during their tenure.

But it all started with John Martin’s.

Anthony

07/08/2026

The very popular Jack in a Box ran from 1987 through to 1998.

Designed by pageant artist, David Blight, Jack was the replacement for Combo Clown.

David of course worked with the pageant for many years and 1997 created Pogo (who still rides his bike year after year).

After Jack’s retirement he later appeared at the Brewery Gardens display in West Hindmarsh.

Source: YouTube

Anthony

Luckily, I’ve been documenting the pageant and its exhibitions for as long as I can remember.This is from the 1998 ‘Page...
06/08/2026

Luckily, I’ve been documenting the pageant and its exhibitions for as long as I can remember.

This is from the 1998 ‘Pageant Memories’ exhibition at Carrick Hill.

Carrick Hill Is of course the former home of the Christmas Pageant founder, Sir Edward Hayward

A number of pieces of note are the koala, wombat and Tasmanian Devil from Aussie Beach Day, the crocodile from Punch and Judy, the roving frog head from Percy Pelican and the mushroom creature from The Enchanted Castle.

Anthony

Don't forget the upcoming exhibition at Carrick Hill, Meet Me at Johnnies (Celebrating the Hayward Years) commences, Aug...
03/08/2026

Don't forget the upcoming exhibition at Carrick Hill, Meet Me at Johnnies (Celebrating the Hayward Years) commences, August 6th and runs until October 31st.

One of the items on display is the maquette for the giant Father Christmas that adorned the store.

There's a link in the comments.

Anthony

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